Thursday, August 23, 2012

Taking Care Of Your Older Vehicle

Introduction
More
people are keeping their cars longer than ever before. The days of
trading in a vehicle after two years seem to be over for a growing part
of the US populace who have decided to keep their cars and drive them
until they drop. In today's economy many owners hang onto their older
cars because they can't afford a new one.
Older cars do offer
advantages over newer models. Financially, all of the initial
depreciation has already happened, so you don't lose the value initially
that you would when you drive the new car off the lot. You can buy a
five year old Porsche for the same price as a brand new Honda Accord.
Figures from CNW Marketing Research also show that a car purchased new
in 2008 would cost around $25,500, with the same car now being worth
$13,000. If you were to purchase it now, you'd have saved about $12,000
over a five year period.
In addition to being cheaper, older cars
generally have lower insurance costs and cost less to register. The
difference in registration can be as much as $1,000 depending on the
state and whether the car is less than three years old. Older cars cost
less to insure because they're cheaper to replace if stolen or wrecked.
Some
times we may refer to older vehicles and some times we use the term
'high mileage'. High mileage can be understood to mean high miles per
year, such as over 15,000 miles per year. For our purposes here, we're
thinking of older vehicles that have accumulated high total miles. How
many miles? If you are driving a car or truck with 75,000 or more miles
on the odometer, investing the time and money to properly maintain your
older vehicle may turn out to be the right move.
With that in
mind, we bring you The Guide to Maintaining Your Older Vehicle. In this
resource we will cover the important priorities you should consider in
maintaining your older vehicle, important maintenance points for when
you acquire a new-to-you older car, and when you should consider finally
replacing your older vehicle for a newer one.
The Important Priorities
Keeping
an older car running well can be a daunting task when you're unfamiliar
with what to do. What should you do first? Last? What things can you
ignore and what things do you ignore at your (and your car's) peril?
There's a lot of think about.
To simplify things, break it down
into manageable bits. When owning and maintaining an older car, there
are three types of priority areas that need to be addressed.
Priority
#1:Items that may cause unsafe operating conditions when driving your
vehicle. This includes your car's braking system, tires, steering
system, and what we call "the driver vision system" which is ensuring
the clarity of all glass and keeping the windows and windshields' free
of cracks or anything else that would obstruct vision.
Priority
#2: Proper maintenance on potential things that could leave you stranded
or cause other components such as the engine to fail. This includes
radiator hoses, fuel lines, constant velocity (CV) joints, clutch fan
and timing belts.
Priority #3: Normal maintenance like changing
the engine oil, transmission fluid and engine coolant. This type of
maintenance doesn't prevent catastrophic breakdown but is essential to
keeping your older vehicle running its best for the longest possible
time.
Recommended Maintenance Procedures
Being proactive in
the maintenance of your older vehicle will extend its life and save you
money. Consider the following areas to target.
Oil Changes - The Life Blood of the Vehicle
Oil
changes conducted at the recommended intervals are the single most
important step you can take to keep your vehicle healthy. An oil change
is cheap insurance because it removes grit and combustion by-products
that end up in the crank case and can cause premature wear.
What to do?
Change
the oil every 5,000 to 7,000 miles, which is fine for most vehicles. If
you drive under severe service conditions (dusty environments, lots of
short trips in cold weather), you should change it a little more often.
Exactly how often is best dictated by whatever the vehicle owner's
manual says.
Some oil change places push high mileage oils for
older cars. These high mileage oils are supposed to be formulated with
higher doses of additives to prevent oil burn-off and deposits. It
certainly doesn't hurt to use a high mileage oil like this or even to
use synthetic oil. But the frequency and regularity with which you
change the oil is the most important factor.
Brakes - Driving's Not Fun If You Can't Stop
Brakes
are one of your vehicle's most important safety features and you should
replace brake pads and shoes when they wear out. How often you need to
do this depends on your driving habits and where you drive. Lots of city
driving with stops and starts will wear the brake pads faster. So will
towing trailers and carrying loads. On average, pads may last 30,000 to
40,000 miles. Some more expensive pads can last twice as long.
You
can tell that your pads are worn thin if you hear a squealing noise
when the brakes are engaged. When the pads are getting thin, the brakes
will start to squeal. This is due to built-in wear indicators that are
in contact with the rotors, producing that sound. Squealing is kind of a
warning sound to you that you need to check your brakes. If you
continue on without servicing the brakes, the squealing will turn into
grinding. Grinding is the sound that the brakes have ground past the
wear indicators and into the rotors themselves, which means the rotors
are being damaged when the brakes are engaged. What was a cheap job of
replacing pads just became more expensive when you have to re-surface or
replace the rotors as well.
Rotors and Drums
It is wise
also to pay attention to the other parts of your brake system - rotors,
drums and calipers. All of these parts have to work together for the
system to function properly and effectively. Over time, brake rotors or
drums can be worn down. Excessively worn pads, as noted above, can lead
to scoring of the rotor's surface. If you feel pulsating when stopping,
you know it's time to have the rotors looked at.
Proper care of
the rotors involving "turning" or resurfacing at the mechanic's shop,
giving you a fresh surface for the brake pads to grip onto. Resurfacing
them saves money you by keeping you from having to replacing them
completely. Of course, rotors and drums can only be turned so many
times, so it is possible with an older vehicle that you will have to
replace these parts.
Machinist turning rotors
Brake System Troubleshooting
There's
more to assessing brakes than simply listening for strange sounds. You
can get some solid clues on the health of the vehicle braking system
(and what you're going to have to do to get it healthy again) by noting
any of these unusual symptoms.

Pulling or Grabbing to
One Side:This can happen for many reasons, none of them good. The brakes
can be misadjusted, there can be leakage of grease, oil or brake fluid,
or the brake cables may be frozen.

Loss of Brake Pedal:This happens when you've lost brake fluid to a
leak. Leaks can be a result of brake line leaks or faults or even a bad
master cylinder. Any good mechanic can diagnose the problem pretty
easily.

Vibration of the Brake Pedal:This results from warping of the brake
system surfaces. Excessive heat coupled with excessive wear warps the
surface of the rotor or drum and results in the signature vibration.
Unfortunately when the wear is up to this point, you're probably going
to have to replace the brake parts instead of being able to resurface
them.

Clicking Noises During Braking:Clicking is simply a result of worn
or broken devices on the brake pad that are supposed to stop movement of
the brake pad. If they break, the pad will be loose and rattle during
braking.

Excessive Drag During Acceleration:If you don't use your emergency break very often, the cable can become rusty and may freeze.

What About Lost Brake Performance?
Catastrophic
brake failure is something you want to avoid. But it doesn't just
happen overnight; some of the following factors can contribute:
1.
Crystallized brake pads and/or shoes: Brakes function when the pad
material is able to grab and hold the surface of the rotor or drum. Heat
is generated as the brake functions in this way. When brakes becomes
overused from stopping too fast too many times or from riding the
brakes, the surface of the ad material crystallizes and becomes hard.
This makes the brake pad surface unable to grab the rotor surface and
unable to stop the car effectively.
Hot brakes under stress
2.
Oil or grease soaked brakes. An important reason you should fix broken
boots (the rubber sleeve that fits onto the end of the axle) and
trans-axles. If they're broken in some fashion, oil and grease can leak
onto the brakes and reduce the stopping effectiveness.
3. "Hot
Spots" on the brake drums or rotors can develop from excessive
overheating in the same fashion as brake pad crystallization. These hot
spots are really hardened areas that have been "cooked" by excessive
heat. The brake pads can't grip the surface of these areas effectively
and this reduces stopping ability.
What To Do?
Don't let the
brakes in your older vehicle get to this point. If you can't check the
brake pads or rotors yourself for wear and tear, have them looked at by a
mechanic every six months or so, as part of a vehicle checkup such as
when you have the oil changed. It will save you money and headaches in
the long run.
Belts and Hoses
The battery, air conditioning
and cooling systems of the car all use belts and hoses to perform their
essential functions. You have the timing belt, which keeps the
crankshaft and camshaft synchronized to maintain engine timing, and
transmits power from the front of the engine to power-hungry systems
like AC and the fan. Cooling hoses distribute coolant to needed parts of
the engine to prevent overheating. These belts and hoses, made out of
rubber, will wear out over time. If one breaks, it can leave you
stranded.
The remedy? Replacing them before they have a chance to fail. But how often to do this?
There
are serpentine belts and there are v-belts. V-belts last about 3 years
or 36,000 miles. The three year cutoff is important to note because
research shows that the failure rate for this belts skyrockets when you
get into year four.
Serpentine belts last longer at about five
years or 50,000 miles. But they cost more to replace so there is a
tradeoff there. It's true for both types that you don't want to be
around when they break, so pay attention to their life span and plan
accordingly.
For rubber hoses like in the cooling system, these
develop tiny cracks that turn into big cracks, splits and leaks. This
process is accelerated by oil contamination, atmospheric ozone exposure
(urban driving), and extra engine vibration which may causes the hose to
rub against something it wasn't intended to.
What to do?
You
can do visual inspections of the hoses, pinching them and inspecting
them for signs of cracks and brittleness. But this only goes so far
because coolant hoses especially wear from the inside due to the
conductivity of the coolant flowing inside of it.
So the only real way to be sure is to bite the bullet and replace the hoses within the recommended lifetime guidelines.
Automotive Fluids: Coolant
Coolant
is the primary fluid most people think of in a vehicle. Coolant has a
defined lifespan and requires changes every so often. How often depends
on what the owner's manual says. Some vehicles have long-life coolant
that's supposed to last 100,000 miles. If you have an older vehicle,
this may not be the case.
You need to change the coolant because
it breaks down over time. Like oil, coolant has certain kinds of
additives contained, including corrosion/rust inhibitors. When the
coolant gets old, these get used up and the cooling system rusts from
the inside out. The engine block itself will contribute a lot of rust to
the situation. The coolant also turns acidic over time due to chemical
reactions with the metal in the coolant system. This accelerates the
corrosive process. If you let this go too long, the rust clogs passages
in the radiator, which causes it to fail over time and your engine to
overheat. Now you're talking a big money expense.
Coolant corrosion
For
some reason, drivers in hot weather states like Florida ignore their
cooling systems more than you would expect. Talk to mechanics in Florida
and many will tell you that overheating is the #1 repair they have to
deal with. Overheating the car even one time can destroy an engine by
warping engine parts like head gaskets and rings. This happens
especially if the engine has aluminum parts, which are more sensitive to
high heat fluctuations than the old cast iron models. Since we are
talking about older cars in this resource guide, it's not certain if
your engine would have aluminum in it or not.
What to do for coolant?
Obviously
you should keep your coolant levels topped up at the recommended
levels. But you will need to flush your coolant system periodically.
There are coolant flushes available formulated to neutralize acid
buildup in the system, so it may be a good idea to use one of those.
Automotive Fluids: Transmission Fluid
Cars
with automatic transmissions use ATF fluids to lubricate the
transmission parts, act as a coolant, and help transmit power from the
engine to the transmission. Manual transmissions aren't as complex as
automatic one but still require some type of oil to accomplish these
features. Both of these fluids need to be changed within recommended
guidelines (owner's manual). ATF fluid breaks down over time due to the
heat exposure. Manual transmission oil gradually gets a buildup of metal
particles in it (ATF fluid does as well). Without being cleaned out and
changed, these will shorten your transmission life. You don't want to
lubricate your transmission with metal shavings. If you've kept your
older vehicle as long as you have, it would be shame for it to die due
to a transmission issue.
What to do for transmission fluids?
Check
the owner's manual for specifics, as usual. Recommendations for
changing the fluid can vary, so it is most important to follow the
manual recommendations.
Generally speaking, manual transmission
fluid gets changed every 30,000 to 60,000 miles. Automatic transmission
fluids require changing from every 30,000 to 100,000 miles (60-100k is
more common). In between changing, you should always check your fluid
levels. Automatic transmissions have dipsticks (like the oil crankcase
dipstick) to allow you to check the level. Manual transmissions rarely
have dipsticks anymore, but since you have an older car, it's possible.
If it does not, you can ask your mechanic to check the oil level when
they're looking at other things.
Whether or not to change
automatic transmission fluid can be a tricky question, however. If you
put new ATF into an old transmission that contains "gunk" and
particulate, the detergent action of the new fluid can dislodge things
that you don't want dislodged, and it can cause more harm to your
transmission than good. If you're unsure whether or not to do it, you
could default to smelling the fluid. Automatic transmission fluid that
has "going bad" will have a burnt smell to it. Check your fluid dipstick
and smell the fluid. If you notice that kind of burnt smell, it's a
good indication that you need to not just have the fluid serviced but
the actual transmission looked at. Burnt transmission fluid is a sign
that the parts inside are breaking down, so to speak.
One more
thing... you should always check transmission fluid levels if you notice
a leak. Transmission fluid is different from motor oil in that it
doesn't burn. So if you check the fluid level and it's low, you've got a
leak, no doubt about it. Which you need to get fixed.
Steering and Power Steering Fluid
If
you can't steer, you can't get where you're going (unless it's in a
straight line). Steering components like ball joints and tie rod ends
wear out over time and can cause failure. If you start hearing noises
when going over bumps and when turning the steering wheel, this is an
indication some of these parts might be wearing and you should look into
it. Unless you have a lot of tools, you'll want to take this to a
professional.
Power steering fluid is the hydraulic fluid that
transmits the power in "power steering". It functions in the steering
system through being pushed by a pump to pistons on either side of the
steering rack, which enabled you to turn the wheels. Like all fluids, it
does not last forever. As the vehicles ages, the steering components
like o-rings will wear out and break apart, contaminating the fluid.
This causes the power steering pump to work harder and wears it out
faster. Replacing power steering fluid is cheaper than replacing a power
steering pump. Both of these are cheaper than replacing a damaged power
steering rack, which is the words of NPR's Car Talk guys, will require
you to take out a small home-equity loan to replace. If you have an
older car (and since you're reading this, you probably do), this will
likely total your vehicle.
What to do for steering?
Have the
steering looked at by a professional when you start hearing funny
noises. If you hear whining or moaning when turning the steering wheel,
this is a sign your pump could be ready to go. Have your steering fluid
changed according to manufacturer guidelines. And check your fluid
level, since running out of fluid will destroy your pump pretty quick.
All Aboard The Power Train
The
power train encompasses the parts of the car that translate the action
and energy of the engine and transmission into vehicle movement.
The
part of the power train that older car owners need to concern
themselves with the most are the CV joints or drive axle boots. If you
look under vehicle near the wheels, you'll see a rubber cover by the
axle; this is the CV "boot", and it protects the CV joint which has a
compaction of grease lubricating bearings and moving parts that
encompass the connection between the drive shaft and the wheel axles. CV
stands for "constant velocity", an important component for transferring
power from the engine to the wheels.
CV boots often wear out on
older front-wheel and all-wheel drive cars. It is crucial that you
replace them before they fail because they connect the drive shaft to
the wheel axles. There are warning signs you can pick up on if you pay
attention. Most common is a popping sound you can hear when you turn the
steering wheel. If you look up under your car every so often, you can
visually see the condition of the rubber boot and spot if there are
cracks in the boot. If so, it's an easy and cheap repair. But if you let
it go, the grease can leak out through the cracks and the CV joint can
fail. Now you're looking at hundreds of dollars instead of a few.
What to do for CV Joints?
Just check the CV boots every so often, such as when you have your oil changed. Once cracks are noticed, have the boot replaced.
Vehicle Suspension
The
suspension interacts with the steering system to provide you with
vehicle control. The suspension absorbs energy from bumps in the road to
keep the vehicle stable and under control. Shocks, struts, and springs
compress and release hundreds of thousands of times over the years of
the vehicle's life. This causes them to weaken. These parts are
essential for road handling, cornering and cushioning you from bumps,
jolts, and vibration. So the suspension isn't as essential as the
brakes, but it does play a major part in having a good driving
experience. But don't mistake this for a conclusion that the suspension
doesn't play an important part in safety. Worn or broken suspension
system components can cause accidents or even vehicle roll over in the
right driving conditions.
Symptoms of a worn out suspension are
obvious but can include things like uneven tire wear and vibration or
noise while cornering in the vehicle. Driving habits and operating
conditions play a part on how often suspension components wear out and
require replacement. So too is the frequency of regular maintenance like
chassis lubrication and even wheel alignment.
What to do for suspensions?
Priority
should be given to replacing any needed parts to keep the vehicle
operating properly. Maintenance steps should include making sure the
chassis is lubricated properly.
Wheel Alignment
Tire
alignment is essential to the life of your tires. If the alignment is
not perfect, excessive tire wear and premature tire failure can result. A
new set of tires can run $600 or more, so you want to everything you
can to make them last longer.
Periodic alignment checks and
adjustment when necessary can save you hundreds of dollars over the life
of your vehicle. It's easy to know when your vehicle is out of
alignment as it will pull to one side or the other while driving.
Tires: The 2nd Most Important Safety Item
Tires
are the contact points between your vehicle and the road. As noted,
they can be expensive and thus the incentive is created to keep them in
good condition. It's worthwhile to make sure your tire pressure is
within the recommended range. Tires are second only to brakes as a
safety device on the vehicle. Having tire pressure too high or low
affects handling and even braking.
Keep your tires inflated to the
correct pressure for safety, even tire wear, and maximum tire life.
Proper tire inflation can also improve your gas mileage by as much as 3
percent according to the U.S. Department of Energy.
What to do?
Check
the tire pressure monthly with one of those cheap gauges you can pick
up anywhere. Do the check when the tires are near room temperature, not
after driving for an hour. And check all four tires. Compare it to the
pressure guidelines in the owner's manual or on the door post or even
under the center console cover. Over-inflated tires will compromise your
handling and your stopping ability. Underinflated tires create a drag
on the road, wear the tires out quickly and cause them to overheat with
the potential for a blowout.
Rotating your tires every 5,000 miles
or whatever your owner's manual says will increase their life because
they will wear more evenly. But don't pay more than $20 or so to have it
done. And don't always have the tire rebalanced after rotation; only if
you feel vibration while driving.
Fuel Systems and Ethanol Fuel
Older
vehicles made before 2004 do not have fuel system components that can
stand up to the highly corrosive effects of ethanol-blended gasoline. As
ethanol has infiltrated the nation's fuel supply, more and more people
are witnessing firsthand how ethanol dissolves rubber and plastic parts
over time and draws water into the fuel. Beyond this, ethanol reduces
gas mileage (it has less energy than gasoline does). Depending on what
state you're in, it may actually be illegal to buy ethanol-free gas at
the filling station.
What to do?
The common answer is to
additize the fuel so the gas mileage improves and the engine/fuel system
parts are protected. There are lots of ethanol additives on the market,
some better than others. You want to choose a fuel treatment that does
not contain alcohol and you want to make sure the claims of the
treatment are reasonable. A bottle that guarantees it will raise your
mileage by 40% is probably overstating its claims by just a little.
What To Do When You Buy An Older Car?
Buying
an older car is the best value since you're not taking the depreciation
that new cars have. The tradeoff is that you're not the only person to
have driven the car and you have no idea how previous owners treated it.
If you're lucky enough to get some kind of vehicle history report, that
can give you a good clue. But let's say you have no information at all
about what's been done? What should you worry most about?
The most
important items you should consider are those that most directly affect
vehicle safety. Remember Priority #1 earlier. Beyond those, you should
consider the following:

Oil change

Air filter

Check condition of hoses and belts

The other
areas of the car are ones (like the health of the suspension) you can
assess as you are driving and operating the vehicle. If the tires are
out of balance or the suspension is worn, you can figure that out pretty
quickly and plan accordingly.
The DIY Guide for Vehicle Repairs
If
your car is getting older, maybe you're at the point where you decide
you want to take more action in keeping the car in good working order.
Fixing a car can range from the simple shade tree job to the extremely
complex. You need to distinguish between what's worthwhile to attempt
and what you should leave to the professionals at the risk of causing
more damage to the vehicle than good.
For the novice mechanic, here are the simple things you should be able to try, in order of increasing difficulty:

Change wiper blades

Replace the air filter

Replace a headlight

Replace the battery

Replace spark plugs

Change the oil

Replace belts

Car repairs you attempt in house
should be judged on scales of safety, car damage and complexity. Safety
means "how easy would it be for me to hurt myself doing this?". Car
damage means "how likely is it for me to damage my car attempting to fix
it and how badly could I damage it?". Complexity means "how hard is it
and do I have to have special tools?"
The Car Talk guys on NPR,
Tom and Ray Tappet, have published an excellent matrix that grades
various repairs on these scales. You can visit the Car Talk web site and
it's easy to find there. We would recommend checking it out.
When Should You Replace Your Older Car
The
decision to replace an old faithful car is a personal one dictated by
the unique circumstances of your life. There is no easy answer to the
question of when to get rid of your older car. Factors like reliability,
vehicle use and personal finances all enter into these decisions.
A
big influence on replacing an existing car is whether it would cost
more to repair the vehicle than the vehicle is worth. If you blow the
power steering rack on a 1995 Ford Escort, it's highly likely that rack
is going to cost more than it would cost to buy another 1995 Ford
Escort. At that point it would make good financial sense to bite the
bullet and replace the car.
The June 2010 issue of Kiplinger's
Personal Finance Magazine contained an excellent article on "Should You
Keep Your Old Car?" They recommend keeping a car and taking care of it
until it drops, saving you money all around (even if you have to spend
some money on maintenance and repairs, you still come out way ahead). Of
course there does come a 'tipping point' where the cost of maintaining
the old car finally outweighs the cost of acquiring the new one. Where
that tipping point is is dependent upon you. It's helpful to layout the
costs of both kinds of vehicle and compare where the numbers come out.

Comparison Items

Upcoming cost of repairs (the biggest line items for keeping any older vehicle)

Insurance costs

Registration cost of new car

New monthly car payment

Depreciation of the new car (a real expense if you're planning to trade it in)

Conclusion
With
everyone looking to cut costs and eliminate personal debt, older cars
are staying on the road longer. Following some of the guidelines in this
Resource Guide should help you keep your older vehicle around longer.

The author Erik Bjornstad is the Technical Information Director
for Bell Performance, the inventors of the first fuel additive in 1909.
Bell
Performance manufactures quality fuel treatments for ethanol (Mix-I-Go
and Ethanol Defense), gas, diesel and the power generation industry.